Love, Reign O'er Me
by WhoGeek
Summary: Six minutes changed her life forever. Now she'll change the lives of six people searching for love and life in a profession filled with hate and death. Danny/Flack, Adam/unknown at this point. SLASH! Don't like, don't read it. ON HIATUS
1. Welcome to New York

Mac and Danny stepped out of the apartment building with their arms full of evidence bags. Danny crossed the busy sidewalk to the SUV when Mac stopped to talk to the building's super. He could see Flack's tall form at the hot dog vendor across the street. Once all his evidence was in the trunk he returned to grab Mac's. As he walked back down the stairs Flack was jogging back across the street, flipping his notebook closed. "What's he say?"

Flack opened his mouth to respond when someone yelled "'SCUSE ME!!"

Mac turned and saw, quite clearly, the collision that was about to happen. "WATCH OUT!!" Clear green eyes flicked up at him in surprise as Flack's attention jerked up to him and Danny swiveled towards him. Too late the girl on the bicycle saw the hole in the cement and her eyes widened in shock as she and the bike were launched into the air. There was flicker of concentration as she wrenched her body around in what looked like a physics-defying move that pushed the wheels down towards the ground, rather than into the air, the rear tire clipping Danny's chest, sending him staggering before bike and rider plowed backwards into Flack's legs. The lanky detective was sprawled on top of the rider, squashing her onto her bike. Mac could have sworn she would have landed if her momentum hadn't carried her into Flack's body.

"Oh shit. I'm sorry are y'all ok?" The girl was staring concernedly between Danny and Flack, who was stunned at finding himself half on top of the cyclist.

"Ya know, I think we're the ones who should be asking you if you're ok. Flack, stop squishing her, you're gonna kill her if you lay there any longer."

"What the hell just happened?" Flack scrambled to get up, offering his hand to the cyclist.

"Well," She carefully untangled herself from the crashed bike and let Flack haul her to her feet. "I hit that nice pot-hole, managed to not land on my face thanks to some mad cool reflexes, but I think I whacked his chest with my tire" she jerked her thumb at Danny "and then proceeded to slam into you. So are you both OK?" The concerned look was back as her eyes flicked between the two.

"I'm fine. I'll prolly have a good bruise, but nothin' too bad." Danny rubbed the black tire mark on his shirt she had pointed to without looking at the point of impact as Mac calmly walked down the stairs. "If I were you, I'd be more worried about your bowling pin here."

Flack glared at Danny, who simply grinned smugly at the detective. "I'm fine. I'm more worried about you, seein' as you're bleedin' on your shirt."

"What?! Where?" She twisted almost comically to see where she was bleeding, before Flack gently grabbed her elbow and pointed at the blood that had smeared onto her green shirt from a small scrape on her forearm. "Damn, I liked this shirt, too."

"I've got a first aid kit in the SUV." She jumped at Mac's gravely voice on her right. "we'll get you patched up and on your way in a few minutes."

She let herself be lead rather bemusedly by the the two men who had firm grips on either arm, while Danny picked her bike up. "But, today's my first day, and I can't be late. And I carry my own first aid stuff."

Danny spoke up. "Doesn't matter how long Mac takes ta fix you up. You're not riding this thing for a while." Green eyes darted over the bike, widening as she saw the busted wheel and the handlebars that had been wrenched out of alignment with the still intact front wheel.

"Ah shit. My new boss is gonna be so pissed. Great first impression Becca, bloody fantastic." A quick glance at her watch and she groaned. "Thirty freaking minutes late. I'm so dead." She leaned against the back bumper of the SUV, not even flinching as Mac cleaned and bandaged her arm.

"I'm sure Flack can give you a ride and explain to your new boss why you're late. It shouldn't be too much of a problem." Mac ignored the glare Don sent to the back of his head.

"Thanks." She was despondent as she stepped over to her bike to grab the bag strapped above the back wheel, swinging the bag onto one shoulder. "And sorry for running you two down."

"Come on, let's get you where you're goin'." Flack guided her towards his car, opening the door for her as she slid in.

"Hey Mac, didn't you say something about a new CSI coming today? What did you say her name was?" Danny gave his boss a curious sidelong look as they climbed into the SUV.

"Rebecca. Rebecca Williams." Mac gave a tiny smile as he started the SUV and they headed back towards the lab.

* * *

She sat in silence in the passenger seat of Flack's car, speaking only to give a few directions, until she frowned down at her leg. "I think I scraped my leg too." She quickly pulled the leg of her pants up, letting out a frustrated sigh at the drying blood on her calf. "Great, now I have to change my shirt **and** my pants." She slumped back against the seat, rubbing her hands against her temples. "Left here."

Flack glanced at Becca, one eyebrow raised as he followed her directions on a familiar path, observing the girl. _No. Young woman._ She had taken off her helmet after seating herself in the car, combing fingers through short red hair. "So where ya from?"

Becca sat in silence for a moment, briefly glancing at the tall detective as he drove. "Georgia."

Flack's second eyebrow joined the first in a desperate attempt to reach his hairline. "You don't sound like a Southern Gal. Hows that happen?" He affected a cheesy, fake southern accent, and Becca snorted in laughter.

"Don't do that again. You sound like a hick. Trust me, there are plenty of hicks around. Nice folk, generally speaking, but there are plenty of 'em. Anyways. My parents are from Niagra Falls area, and my cousins are all over the place. I got really good at accents really fast." She paused for a moment. "I'm also very adept at understanding regional slang. Soda vs Pop, hey vs hi vs hello, stuff like that. I tend to take on some of the accent of the locals, or whoever I'm talking to."

"That's pretty impressive."

"It's come in handy. Although" Becca grimaced a bit "Some people think I'm trying to insult them when I start adjusting my accent, even though I have very little control over it." She pointed to a building. "There. That's it."

Flack smirked as he found a parking spot along the street, instantly recognizing the building that housed the crime lab. "I'll walk you in and explain what happened to your boss."

"Thanks, but that's really not necessary."

"Hey, it's not a problem. I've got someone in there I need to talk to anyways."

Becca held her hands up in surrender. "Ok, if you insist."

Flack guided her into the building, wondering if Mac and Danny had managed to arrive before them. He had tried to give them a little extra time by driving slower than normal, and he hoped Mac would be sitting in his office when they arrived. Becca dug a slip of paper from her pocket, glancing at it as she hit the button for the elevator. She studied the slip before jamming it back into her pocket, tapping her foot as they waited fore the elevator. It finally arrived and she waited while several people exited before jumping in and pressing the button. Flack followed, baffled by her antics. "You sure you're ok?"

Becca sighed, dropping her head back against the wall. "Yeah, just pissed at myself, and the adrenaline rush is wearing off."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up. I'm sure your boss will understand."

She stared silently at Flack for a minute or two, fidgeting with her helmet. "I guess." She turned away quickly as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open.

Flack followed her out where they were immediately accosted by a whirlwind of anger in the form of Stella. "Don. Where the hell is Mac? He's got paperwork piling up on his desk, Adam is refusing to do any other work until he presents his findings to Mac, Sinclair is all over my ass about a high profile case, our new CSI is late, and he goes racing off to a scene with Danny!"

"Relax, Stella. I left just before he did, so he should be back soon."

Becca had fallen back a step when Stella started ranting. She let out a quiet gasp as she realized that the 'Mac' Stella was asking aboutwas the same 'Mac' who had patched her up, and her new boss. Stella turned to Becca at the noise, her entire demeanor changing in a split second. "Hi, I'm Detective Stella Bonasara, and you would be?"

"Rebecca Williams. I just transferred from Georgia." Becca took Stella's hand and they shook.

"Flack, tell Mac I want to talk to him when he gets here. I'm going to show Rebecca around really quick." She turned and walked back towards the heart of the lab, motioning for Rebecca to follow.

"I'm a homicide detective, not a freaking messenger." Flack's voice followed the two women as they turned a corner. "Great. Thanks, Bonasara, you're really makin' me look bad to my captain for spendin' so much time here." He stood in front of the elevators for a moment, looking back and forth before sighing heavily and following Stella into the lab.

* * *

"Five, four, three, two, one. Right on cue, there he is." Stella smirked at Becca, who laughed when Flack appeared around the corner, hands in his pockets.

"Nice. Hey, Flack. You're quite predictable, aren't ya?"

"No."

Both women laughed, and Don looked between them, completely baffled.

"If you're not predictable, how did Stella know that you would come after us?" Becca lifted one eyebrow, challenging.

"I'm not gonna answer that one."

"So, you were going to show me around?"

"Yeah. Flack, get Mac back here, so we can actually get some work done around here."

"Fine, fine. I can see when I'm not wanted. Later, Becca, Stella." Flack turns and strides back down the hall as Stella begins Becca's tour of the lab.

"So, Georgia, huh?"

"Yeah. Actually, I'm originally from North Carolina, but we moved when I was 12. Middle school was the worst three years of my life. It's actually how I ended up being a criminologist. I just kinda threw myself into the sciences, and music. Later, in high school, people quickly learned that they could find me in one of two places; Band room, or one of the chemistry classrooms."

"Wow. Come on, I'll get you set up in a locker, so you don't have to carry all that with you."

"Thanks. Need to change my shirt too. Probably not the best idea to work my first day in a bloody shirt."

Stella lifted one eyebrow, "Oh, we deal with things worse than blood on a daily basis. A little blood is nothing."

"I know, but it's definitely something when it's your own blood."

Stella made a sympathetic face. "That's never good."

"Yeah. So, locker?"

"Right. Come on." Stella motioned for Becca to follow again, and led her to the locker room, chatting away about the lab.

"Hey, Stella, tell me about Mac Taylor. What's he like as a boss?"

Stella looked vaguely surprised, before thinking about the question. "Well, that's a tough question to answer. Here," Stella picked up something from a hidden corner. "Mac set out your locker assignment so it would be ready when you got here." She handed over a lock, but was startled when Becca pulled out her own. "You'll have to write down the code for that."

"I know. I just feel better using my own lock. So which locker is going to be mine?"

Stella looked at the slip of paper that had been with the lock and pointed to the appropriate locker door. "That's your locker."

"Thanks." Becca pulled it open and began to empty her bag into it, setting a clean shirt and pants to the side. "Well, if you would rather not try and describe what Mac Taylor is like as a boss, and I know how hard it is to describe bosses, at least tell me, you mentioned an Adam when you accosted Flack. Who's Adam?"

"Adam is one of the best lab techs we've ever had. He sometimes helps with processing scenes." Becca pulled the bloody shirt over her head, revealing a grey cami, but Stella stopped her before she could pull on her new shirt. "What happened to your arm?"

Becca glanced down at the scar that ran across her upper arm. "Gunshot." She pulled the clean shirt on and before Stella could press for more details grabbed her clean pants. "Where can I change?" Stella silently pointed towards the showers, and Becca moved off. "I'll want to meet this Adam. Sounds like a friend from college."

Stella waited only a moment before Becca reappeared, carrying the dirty pants and dropping them into the locker with the discarded shirt. "If you knew an Adam in college, he's probably not our Adam. Adam is from Phoenix."

Becca chuckled as they left the locker room. "He's sounding more and more like my Adam." At Stella's raised eyebrow she continues. "I went to college in Phoenix. I was a bit rebellious as a teen, and I wanted to get as far from my family as I could. Phoenix just, fit."

Stella nods her understanding as they walk into the AV lab, to find Adam rushing back and forth between machines. "Adam, I'd like you to meet our new CSI."

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait." He dashes back to one machine and finally sits down, quickly tapping out a few commands on the keyboard. He stares intently at the screen. Suddenly he throws his hands up in the air, spinning around with a "YES!!"

"Adam Ross." Becca speaks up, and Adam twitches, falling out of his chair. "You dolt!" In seconds, she's hauling him to his feet and wrapping the stunned tech into a tight hug. "Why didn't you tell me you were moving to New York? How long have you been here? Why did I have to come to New York to find out?"

Adam pushes her back, stunned, studying her face. "Rebecca? Rebecca Williams? But... When.... Huhwah?" He drops back into the chair, disbelief etched onto his face, slowly being replaced by unconcealed happiness. Becca crouches in front of him, her hands on his knees.

"Gee, I didn't know I could reduce the great Adam Ross to incoherency." At the teasing he seems to wake out of his stupor and lightly punches her shoulder.

"Stel, can we have a minute. We've got a lot of catching up to do." Adam looks pleadingly up at her and she shrugs, baffled, and walks out, closing the door behind her. "When did you get here?"

"'bout a week ago. I've been staying with my cousin until I can find a place." She grabs the only other chair in the room and drags it over so they can sit side by side. "Now, I asked questions first. I want answers."

Adam chuckles, "Some things never change. I've been here since '05. I... I didn't tell anybody I was moving. I just, left." He looks sidelong at her, and sees the mix of wary anger, sadness, and determination that always preceded someone getting pulped.

"That bad?" He nodded, and she silently wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You know..."

"Yeah, I know. If I called you would have hopped the next flight out and beat him up for me, and then proceded to mother me for the next month and a half until I got fed up with it and shoved you on the next flight out." He rubbed his face with one hand. "It was just easier to pack up and move. I haven't been in anything serious since then."

"I know that wording. There someone you got in mind?"

Adam turned away, burying his face in his hands. He muttered something uninteligible.

"What? What was that? I didn't catch any of that." Becca turned from comforting to teasing in a heartbeat, a wicked grin spreading across her face.

Adam sighed, knowing he would get nowhere soon when she started teasing. "I said it's mostly just crushes. Hard not to crush on people when they're all so damn sexy." A glance at Becca revealed an even wider grin and a definite evil glint in her eyes. He groaned.

"Like Mac the Marine?" The steady blush creeping across his cheeks had her laughing loudly. "Or Don Flack Jr. Homicide Detective." Adam crossed his arms on the table and rested his forhead on his forarms with a groan. "Or Danny Messer, bad-boy on a bike. Or Doctor Hawkes, the intellectual. You'd like that, wouldn't you, someone with a big brain."

"I hate you." He muttered into the table before turning to glare at her. "I forgot how annoying you can be. You and your damn research. And how much research did you do on your new coworkers if you didn't know I was here?"

"You know you love that I know what you like in a guy. And I only had a chance to do some basic research on the CSIs and some of the detectives. What with...." She reached up to unconsciously rub at the scar on her arm, sadness spreading across her face.

"Sorry. I meant to call."

"I know. You always call if you can." Silence fell over the two, as Becca continued to rub her arm. That's how Mac found them, walking in 2 minutes later, leaned against each other in a semi-comfortable silence.

Mac raised one eyebrow and they both jumped up. "Stella said you have something for me?"

Adam nodded, firing up the simulation he had been running when Stella and Becca had found him. "Yeah. I've run it through with all the variables, and the only scenario that comes anywhere remotely close to what we found is if there were 3 attackers in the room." They watched the simulation run it's course, and several objects highlighted at the end. "These were thrown from one person to another," his mouse circled one, "these were left by the first," another object circled, "And this is where the third initially attacked the victim." Another circling. "This simulation shows what it would have taken to do everything they did as quickly as they had."

Mac nodded, "Any idea who these guys are?"

"Not yet, DNA is still running, but here are the results for the prints you lifted." Adam handed over a folder that had been sitting on the desk.

"Page me when DNA comes back." Adam nodded, and Mac turned to Becca, who was starting to shift from foot to foot awkwardly. "Welcome to New York, Miss Williams."

"Sorry about earlier."

"It's not a problem. Just don't let it happen again."

"Don't worry, I have no plans on a repeat performance." Adam looked curiously at them. "I kinda, ran into Danny and Flack on my bike on my way in." Becca scowled as Adam grinned at her. "Don't."

"Well, thats what, your fifth bike? You did ruin it, right? Because otherwise, you would have found some way to bring it up here."

"Ninth. But who's counting!?" Mac cleared his throat, and they jumped. "Sorry."

"Rebecca, if you would come with me, there's some paperwork I need you to fill out."

She followed Mac up to his office, admiring the view of the labs it provided as Mac sat down and pushed a small stack of papers towards her. "Please call me Becca. Rebecca is just, too much." She pulled a pen from a pocket and begain filling out the papers, flipping through quickly to read through. "It's like Elizabeth, or Margaret. I don't think I know anyone with either of those names who uses the full name." She fell silent, and the only sound in the room was the rustle of paper and the scratching of the pen. "Alright. Done. Now what?"

Mac took the pages from her and set them neatly on the top of his desk. "Now, this is your badge." he pulled the object out of a drawer, setting it on the desk in front of her. "Memorize the number. Being an NYPD Detective is an honor, don't misuse the power this grants you. Within the next few weeks you'll have to take a firearms exam, and any training they may tell you to take. Until you are issued a gun, you will process scenes with another CSI, most likely Stella or myself, in order for us to get an understanding of your abilities. For today, I'd like you to help Stella on her case. She's in trace, now." He pointed and Becca swiveled to spot the curly-haired woman in one of the rooms. "You'll meet more of the other CSI's later today." He nods in dismissal.

Becca grasps the golden badge, clipping it carefully to her belt. "Thank you, sir." She stands and heads to the door.

"Don't"

"Don't what?"

"Call me sir." He smiles slightly, remembering when Lindsay had used the same term.

"Sorry. Old habits die hard." Mac's eyebrows lift in curiosity. "Marching band. Everything is 'yes sir' 'no sir' 'I don't know sir.' After awhile it gets ingrained into any response to an authority figure." She chuckles. "Five years out and I'm still doing it." Before he can respond she turns and leaves his office. He watches her traverse the maze of labs, wandering into a couple before she manages to make her way into the trace lab.


	2. Trust and Observations

**AN: **Ok, so this is a little shorter than I wanted it, but I've basically finished with Becca's second day. Because, essentially, each chapter will be one day unless I say different at the beginning of the chapter. I wanted to make this a little longer, but I was getting stuck, so I decided to cut my losses and just post.

* * *

Becca stared at herself in the mirror over the sinks in the bathroom, knuckles white as she clenched the sides of the sink. She couldn't really blame Stella, for asking if tomorrow really was her birthday. Starting a new job only two days before the milestone probably hadn't been the greatest idea, considering what it reminded her of. Adam had shot her a worried look as she rocketed past his lab, and she knew he was probably ensuring she would be alone long enough to pull herself together.

Stella stood in the lab behind Adam, bothering him in an attempt to make him spill what had the new girl so emotionally off kilter. Adam was trying valiantly to ignore her, simply moving around her when it was absolutely necessary to get past.

"No, Stella. I'm not going to do that to Becca. She trusts me with everything about her, and there's no way I'm betraying that kind of trust. We've been there for each other since college, and I'm not about to lose that now. Not the muinín* we have with each other." Adam peered down the microscope again. "If you want to find out, I suggest asking Becca. And nicely. She doesn't take well to prying."

Stella huffed and stalked out, completely missing the impressive mix of apprehension, relief, surprise, and protectiveness on Adam's face. She knocked on the door to the women's bathroom, leaning her forehead against the smooth surface. "Becca, can I come in?"

"Free country." Becca's voice was rough and quiet, and as Stella pushed the door open she looked down at her hands on the sides of the sink. "Please don't make me explain."

Stella stepped over to Becca and draped one arm around her shoulder. "Becca, I don't want to push you, but I want to understand why you're not happy about your birthday. I asked Adam, but he said he wouldn't betray your trust. Please Becca. I want you to trust me."

Becca breaks free and backs up to the wall, sliding down the cold tiles. "I can't, I can't. I'm sorry, but I just can't. I should have just waited a week to start. Then I wouldn't have to deal with this." She burst into tears, pulling her knees to her chest.

Stella slid down next to her and pulled her in for a gentle hug. "Adam said that the two of you have muinín with each other. What does that mean?"

Becca suddenly tensed and pulled away to look at Stella, scrutinizing her behind teary eyes. The bathroom was silent for several minutes except for the steady sound of the drippy faucet. "Only one reason he would use that word. Muinín is simply the Irish world for trust. Adam used that word for a very specific reason." Becca reached around into her back pocket, pulling out her wallet and flipping to a clearly well loved picture. Silently she handed over the snapshot, obviously from a street photo-booth.

Stella gasped. Grinning out of the image were two Beccas, arms thrown about each other's shoulders, laughing and having the time of their lives. "Becca, you failed to mention being a twin."

"I _was _a twin."

"Was? Past tense? How can you stop being a twin?"

Becca fiddled silently with the fabric of her pants for a moment. "Melissa is dead. It's been 7 years and six days since I lost my second half. It took six minutes. We were walking to a bus stop from a party, and we were walking along the street when a car drove past and opened fire on one house. The scar you saw on my arm, one on my leg, and another on my side are reminders of what happened. Lissa got hit in the shoulder and in the leg. She was dead by the time the first responders arrived, six minutes later. Six minutes that felt like six years. I didn't even realize that I had been hit until the paramedics started pulling me off her body."

Stella said nothing, instead simply pulling Becca into a tight hug. They sat on the floor of the bathroom for a couple minutes, before Stella spoke quietly. "How does Adam know about it?"

"He, well, he saved my life. He was there for me when I was at my lowest. He found me at the apartment after the funeral, drunk off my ass, forced me to get cleaned up," She gave a sobbing laugh. "Hell, he practically cleaned me himself, and then made sure I kept my head above water. He was there when I had nothing else left. 's why we're so close."

"So you and Adam are like Mac and me." Becca looked questioningly at Stella, and she elaborated. "We trust each other with our lives. Completely, with no reservations or worry when we're in a tight spot. He was there for me when I had some boyfriend trouble, and helped me get past that mess."

"Yeah. I guess so." Becca pushed herself to her feet, Stella following her. "Thanks Stella."

"Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me." They walked out of the bathroom and ran right into Adam, who had been standing outside and chewing on his thumbnail for almost ten minutes. "Adam. Is there something you need?"

"No, no. I just.... I wanted to make sure.... I......" He trailed off, clearly struggling to find words that wouldn't get him in trouble with either woman. "I should get back, I've got evidence to process."

Adam turned to leave and was stopped by Becca's hand on his wrist. "Muinín. You trust Stella, then so do I. We're good." Adam grinned and walked back to his lab, leaving Stella and Becca standing in the hall. "Right. We've got a case to finish, no?"

Stella smiled and they walked back to the trace lab in a companionable silence.

* * *

Don strode into the trace lab, waving a folder at Danny as he circled the table. "Got a name on a suspect, phone records came through." He leaned his hip against the table when he reached his friend. Becca's eyes flicked up from her magnifying light across the table, watching the two unobtrusively. "He's got a couple of priors for assault, and one for indecent exposure, so he's definitely a viable suspect. What've you got?"

Danny opened a swab as he stared intently at a spot on the jacket he was processing. "Some kind of transfer. Looks like some sort of gel. I'll get this to Adam and then we can head out." Danny grinned sideways at his friend. "You ah, still up for hoops Saturday?"

"Danno, when have I not been up for wiping your ass across the court?"

Danny let out a snort of laughter, his grin spreading. "You wipe my ass across the court? I think you've got things backwards there. As I recall, I'm the one who wiped your ass across the court last game."

"Are you sure about that? I think your memory is getting faulty there."

"Boys, as entertaining as this is, Becca and I do have better things to do than watch you banter about who is better at basketball." Stella's small smile is enough to let them know that she's teasing, but mostly serious.

"Besides, I could wipe the court with both of you." Both Danny and Don turn to gawk at Becca, who has returned her eyes to the jacket she's inspecting. Her face is impassive as she glances up at them for just a moment. "Don't believe me? Fine. Time and place. I'll wipe the floor with the two of you. Two on one. I'll take the both of you at the same time."

"You sure about that short stuff? I wouldn't want to hurt your feelings by having to make you eat your words." Don smirks at the redhead.

"Hold on, she's offering to take us on, two to one. I'm sure she knows she's setting herself up for defeat. If she wants a game, I say we give it to her." Danny finishes sealing his evidence and turns to Don. "Could be fun. Besides, we should mix it up now and again. Keep us on our toes."

Don nods thoughtfully, scratching his chin. "Alright. You're on."

"Noble Playground.** 9 o'clock."

"I'll be there." Becca smirks and returns to working as the two men walk out.

"I've got to warn you Becca, those two are good. Be careful what kind of challenges you issue to them."

"Yeah, well, I'm good too. I'm not just a twin, I've got three other siblings; an older brother, a younger brother, and an older sister. We would play basketball free-for-all, Lissa, Andy, Greg, and me. Kate would keep score for us. She wasn't nearly as competitive as the rest of us. I usually won." Becca smirks down at the sleeve she's inspecting. "You saw one of our games, right Adam?"

Stella's head snaps up to stare at the door, where Adam is standing, looking slightly awkward. "Yeah. Kinda scary, actually."

"He didn't dare try to jump in, even though we did offer to let him play."

"Not with the way Greg played. He was one scary guy!"

Becca rolled her eyes. "Adam, he's younger than you."

"He still scared me." Adam holds up a folder. "Results for Danny."

"You just missed him. He and Don just went after their suspect." Stella shrugged at Adam. "We've got some swabs for you to process though." Stella scooped up the small collection of swabs and Adam stepped into the room to take them. "Have you seen Mac lately?"

"Yeah, he's in reconstruction right now. Want me to tell him you need him?"

"No, I'll just head over there in a couple of minutes. Thanks Adam."

"Not a problem." Adam sends Becca a swift grin and a wink and exits trace with the swabs.

"What was that all about?"

Becca looks up, her face deceptively blank. "What was what about?"

Stella rolled her eyes. "Why did Adam wink at you?"

The corners of Becca's lips twitched as she looked back down at the jacket. "Just a little reminder, at a rough point in my year." Stella is quiet, retracing the conversation a couple of steps, a small smile working it's way onto her face as she realizes the significance of Adam's parting words. "Stella, What does this look like to you?" Becca holds up a section on the front of the jacket, angling it towards Stella.

"Looks like some kind of pattern, scraped into the leather, probably during a struggle. What do you think made it?"

"A piece of jewelry. See the line here? Probably from the loop that connects pendants or charms to a chain or bracelet." Becca spread the section out on the table and picked up the camera, quickly snapping a few shots of the area. "I've seen this before. This pattern....." She jerks upright suddenly, eyes wide, and races from the room.

"What was that all about?" Stella shrugs and resumes her own processing. Moments later Becca rushes back in, carrying something in her hand. "Care to fill me in?"

"This pattern is a celtic knot, very similar to this one." Becca opens her hand to show Stella the keychain she had brought back with her. "A lot of people wear them as pendants, simply because they think they're pretty. The most common ones are the trinity knot, which you see in a lot of churches, and the celtic cross. There are a lot of other patterns, like mine. Now, mine is different, as you can see, it's not actually one solid knot." Becca fiddled with something on the back of her knot and it came apart into two pieces. "Originally, Lissa had one half, and I had another. Two parts of the same whole." She pauses and bites her lower lip for a moment, piecing the knot together again. "Anyways. Whatever medallion, keychain or charm that made this impression had to have been metal, and a really good one."

"So, considering the location of the impression on the jacket, I'd say that we're looking for a necklace."

"And it will probably have leather on it."

"Good, good. Can you finish up here while I go talk to Mac?" Becca nods as she turns back to the jacket, and Stella slips quietly out.

* * *

Becca wanders into Adam's lab much later and plops down in an extra chair. "What're you up to at this time of night?"

"Mac found a broken disc at his crime scene, split almost in half. Asked me to put it back together, see if there's anything of interest on it. I'm just about ready to see if there's anything on it." Adam grabbed the disc and carefully put it into the computer. Several documents popped up, and he skimmed quickly through them, stopping when he encountered two video files. "Which one first?"

"...... The earlier one." Becca gave Adam a pointed look, and he blushed slightly.

"Right. Stupid question." Adam opened the video and they watched as a young woman sat in front of the camera and began speaking. "looks like a video for an online dating thing." He glances at Becca, who's nodding, with a quizzical look on her face.

"Open the second one." Adam complies and they both gasp at the new scene that fills the screen. The woman from the previous recording is sprawled on a bed, hands tied together as she writhes in pain, unable to scream around the gag in her mouth. They both wince as the figure standing over her adds another cut to the many already seeping blood from her torso. "Is that.... is that the vic?"

"I think so. Apparently she was found skinned except for her head and hands." Adam looks slightly green as he stops the video, and they both shudder, just as Mac walks in.

"Did you get anything useful off that disc?"

"Yeah. And it's really horrific." Becca vacates her chair and pushes it towards Mac. "I think you'll want to sit down to see this." Mac quirks an eyebrow at her, but does take the seat, Becca pulling up another for herself.

"The first video is pretty ordinary, just a dating tape. The second one, however, is where things get really gruesome. Here." Adam once again plays the torture video, and all the color slowly drains from Mac's face before rushing back, the ire clear in his eyes.

"Adam, see if you can get anything of the attacker's face, I want a name for this guy. Becca, come on. We're going to process the victim's home. If that's where both videos came from, that's our primary scene. Grab your kit." Mac stalks out of the room before either of them can say a word.

"I'll see you later then Adam."

"Yeah. Guess it's going to be a long night for the two of us. You'd better get going."

"Right." Becca turns and rushes from the room and catches up with Mac just as he steps into the elevator.

* * *

*muinín- Irish for trust. Please don't kill me if I got this wrong. Online translators can only do so much for you.

**Noble Playground is in the Bronx, which is where, I think, Danny lives. Don't kill me if I'm wrong. And I'm pretty sure I am.

Also, last chapter, I said Becca pulls out her own lock, but then I remembered that the lab's lockers have electronic keypad locks...... whoops. Oh well. I'm not going back just to change that one little detail.

Also, the next chapter will be Becca's birthday. And Danny and Flack are..... well, Danny and Flack.

Read and Review!!


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